Original Sin
by IndiaInk147
Summary: "I knew them. Those 'Originals'. When they were as human as you, Elena. They were my family. I fell in love with their son. Then everything changed, Esther's spell of protection saved them...and destroyed them. My blood is what completed them, and I haven't seen my family in over 800 years. Now I'm back, in Mystic Falls, in my home...and what a mess you've made," - Klaus/OC AU
1. Prologue

I am 6 years old. My father says that is a good age, but I'm not sure why. We like to walk. We walk for miles to the farms around our home. Today we are walking further, to somewhere I have never been. Father says the Mikealsons are good people, they have a mother and father, like my family. But in my family, there is only me. The Mikealsons have 6 children. There is a baby, and Rebekah who is nearly as old as me, and Kol and Niklaus and Finn and Elijah who are all older than me. I wonder if they can be my brothers and sisters. Father smiles and says maybe one day. I don't know what this means, either, but I smile too. Niklaus is a good age too, my father says. I pretend to understand.

The village is small, all around a big white tree that shines in the sun. Mama is too weak to walk with us; but she would have liked it. I know. Children run and play, mothers carry washing in woven baskets, menfolk practise fighting. I long to join them, but my father holds me back with a hand on my shoulder. Girls do not fight and ladies do not play so roughly, he says. I think this is stupid, but I hold my tongue.

At the edge of the clearing there is a small hut and caves set back in the woods. There is a tall man outside, He scares me and I hide behind father's legs. There are two boys with him. They laugh at me.

"Dorian, I did not expect you so soon," the strange man says, holding out his hand to father. They grasp each other's forearms. I have seen this greeting before, between the menfolk.

"Its Gwyn, her condition worsens," my father says sadly, I know only father and mother. I do not know who Gwyn is. "We do not expect her to survive the Winter.

"Is it so? I'm sorry Dorian. She is a good woman,"

"Thank you," my father murmurs, glancing at me. "it means certain plans must be accelerated,"

"I see," the man replies, looking me over, from head to toe. I shiver and hide myself again. "Come inside, Esther is preparing dinner,"

I go to follow my father as he walks to the mouth of the cave, but he pushes me back without looking at me. I look up at his retreating form with bewildered eyes.

"This is elder talk," A deep voice comes from over my shoulder, I turn around quickly. The woman I find is tall and willowy, with dark caramel skin and long black dreadlocks plaited around her heart-shaped face. "The adults are talking, you should not disturb them. My name is Ayana, I'll take you to the other children," She holds out her hand, I take it, wrapping my small fingers around her palm. She leads me to the small patch of meadow grass beside the hut, where the Mikealson children play with some of the villagers.

"Off you go," Ayana murmurs, releasing my hand, giving my head a parting pat before disappearing back into the hut. The children are staring at me.

The pretty little blonde girl, Rebekah, stumbles over to me. She is smaller than me, and gives me a sweet smile, pressing a white flower into my hand.

"It's Vervain," she lisps, "Ayana says it will protect you. Want to play with me?"

I close my fingers around this delicate gift and follow Rebekah to her spot beneath an oak tree, where she is fastidiously braiding vervain and other flowers into crowns and necklaces.

A boy a bit older than me plays at swordfighting with the other boys, he is clean cut, his boots look new. He is obviously wealthy, as is Rebekah, draped in fine but inconspicuous royal blue.

"Is he one of your brothers?" I ask Rebekah, lacing the stems of flowers together, staring at the boy with sandy blonde hair down to his chin and the hint of adulthood around his jaw and shoulders. He looks up at me in surprise, I drop my gaze immediately, cheeks flushed with red heat.

"Him? Yes, that is my older brother, Niklaus,"

I don't fully understand, but something in his surprised smile clicks it into place for me. I know that father has brought me here for a reason, and that this is not the last time I will see Niklaus.

Despite my languid efforts with the flowers, my weaving unravels easily. Rebekah laughs, places her crown on my head and shows me how to do it properly. Niklaus and his brothers are staring now, and my cheeks grow redder with every passing moment.

Niklaus is of good age too, I recall my father saying.


	2. Chapter 1

It was about 3pm when I turned up, the warm buzz of my Ducati's tires against smooth asphalt was the only sound I could hear as I rode into town. A sign hung over a sorry looking bridge, one part of the metal frame broken and warped, joined with a bright yellow strip of tape that flickered in the wind. 'Welcome to Mystic Falls - Wickery Bridge'.

Things certainly have changed.

I sped into the centre of town, it was quiet. A few stay-at-home moms shopping around for juniors next playdate outfit or the ingredients for the latest bakesale, a couple of shady looking kids hanging around on street corners, hastily passing around a joint and looking up in impressed silence as I sped past on my motorcycle. I pulled up outside The Grill, Katerina did recommend the local specialities, after all. The place was nice, quiet and nostalgic, the faint thrum of music in the background, a couple early-afternoon drunks. It didn't look as busy as you'd expect, being the only eatery in this tiny little town, but I guess the high-school crowd hasn't been released yet. Bummer. I could go for bitchy cheerleader about now, or the quaterback who likes to wine and dine the ladies with roofies and regret. Maybe a pervert teacher. My morality was twisted, I admit, but still there. Faintly.

There was a nice young blonde dude behind the bar, too young to be working at 3 on a school day, polishing the varnished wood in neat circles. Nice arms, buddy. On the other side of the bar sat an older looking guy, chiseled, dark, mysterious. His leather jacket lay draped over the back of his barstool, his hands toying with a tumbler of dark amber liquid. I inhaled deeply. Bourbon. My kind of guy.

"I'll have what he's having,"

Mr. Mysterious looked up at me, a crooked smirk on his lips as he kicked out the barstool beside his. I hopped up, hooking the heels of my boots over the rungs of my seat.

"You don't want what I got," He replied, downing his drink and gesturing for another. I liked his voice, deep, rough with a sharp edge, sarcastic and totally serious simultaneously.

"Try me," I lifted my glass from the napkin the second Blondie slid it over to me, knocking back the drink in one go.

"Have we met?" He asked, a flicker of familiarity in his eyes.

"Yes,"

"Did we sleep together?" His smirk is back in full force. Oh, this boy is used to playing girls like cards. dealt and kept and tossed back on the pile.

"In your dreams, pretty boy," I scoffed

"So we've established that you think I'm pretty. Interesting,"

"You flatter yourself," I drank my second in one, never breaking his gaze. Mr. Mysterious smirked again and downed his drink.

"hey, maybe you guys should slow down," Blondie murmured almost inaudibly. I'd almost forgotten about him. I turned to him, holding his hand flat against the bar top, staring deep into his eyes.

"You'll do what I say," My pupils grew and shrank, and his followed. "Do you understand?"

"I understand," He replied in a monotone, robotic voice.

"Good boy. Now, off you go," I patted his hand and turned back to Mr Mysterious.

"Nicely done. I wouldn't get too used to it though," He said conversationally, toying with the little red straw sitting uselessly in his empty glass. "They're on to us. Vervain will probably be the official town flower before the year is out,"

"Interesting," I replied, "But I've still got time til I have to start outsourcing my meals," I watched Blondie out of the corner of my eye. "How's that brother of yours? Still on the master cleanse from hell?"

His jaw clenched, "So we really have met before," He muttered.

"You sound surprised. Girls use that one to get you into bed or something?" I teased. He didn't even crack a smile.

"When did we meet?"

"1915, I believe," I replied, "Stefan was off paying his debt to society in the great war, Lexi was being overbearing, you were frustrated. We met in a pub in London...you probably don't remember,"

"December 2nd," He said without even glancing at me, "The Rose and Crown in the West End. You were wearing red," He looked up, "I remember. It's been a long time, Faye,"

"That it has," I smiled, "And longer since I've been here. I'm glad the first person I met here, after almost a millennium, was you, Damon,"

"I can't say I blame you, I mean...look at me,"

"I mean it, dumbass. You talked me down from the ledge all those years ago, tell me what's troubling you. It's the least I can do."

Before he could reply, my sensitive hearing picked up the anxious adolescent thrum of teenagers released from school.

Fun.

They flooded the grill, writhing little ants in letterman jackets and jeans from the same store. I watched them with eager eyes. I spot him, my guy. Tall douchebag, making lewd comments about the freshmen girls. Tyler Lockwood, I picked out from the conversation. He'd do. I hopped down from my bar stool and wandered towards him. A curtain of dark brown hair caught my eye. I glanced round, hand in hand with Stefan in the archway beside the pool tables was...

"Katerina..." I wondered aloud, incredulous. Stefan looked up, and Damon was beside me, grasping my upper arm. His daylight ring shone.

"There's my problem, personified," He hissed in my ear. "See what I'm dealing with here, Faye?"

"You have no idea what you're dealing with,"

**Please review, I'd love to know what you guys thing :)**


	3. Chapter 2

"You have no idea what you're dealing with,"

"What do you mean, Faye?" Damon turned me, holding my shoulders as 'Katerina' looked up at Stefan, confused.

"She's human, isn't she?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. The blood pumping in her pretty little veins had already clarified that for me.

"Yes," Damon glanced at them over my head, "Her name is Elena Gilbert,"

"And Stefan's going out with her?" I concluded, scrunching up my nose, "Going out with a girl that's the spitting image of your dead vampire ex. That's pretty damn creepy,"

"Tell me about it," Damon smirked, "And no, he's not 'going out' with her. Not yet, anyway,"

"God," I muttered, glancing at them from across the bar, "This is so incredibly fucked,"

"What are you not telling me?"

"All in good time, Salvatore," I smiled, "I have to keep some cards close to my chest, after all," I turned on my heel, having overcome my initial shock, and wandered over to the happy, creepy couple.

"Hey, Stefan," I grinned, "Long time no see, kiddo,"

"Faye?" His face broke into a confused albeit happy smile, pulling me into a hug, acting as if he hadn't heard my conversation with Damon. "It's been forever, how are you?"

"Surviving," I laughed quietly into his shoulder, pulling back to look at the bewildered 'Elena' with an innocent smile on my face. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Of course," Stefan looked slightly flustered, running a hand through his thick hair, "Faye this is Elena, we go to school together, Elena this is Faye, an old family friend,"

"Nice to meet you," Elena smiled, but I could see the disappointment in her eyes. _We go to school together._ "I love your accent, are you British?" She sounded almost disappointed. Afraid Stefan would fall into the category of boys who listed 'British Accent' in their turn ons.

"I was born there," I smiled at her, "And spent a great deal of time there, but Mystic falls is my home,"

"How long are you in town for?" Stefan continued, obliviously.

"I don't know. Until I want to move on, or until they kick me out, whichever comes first," I earned a laugh from Elena, and a derisive snicker from Damon, still leaning against the bar, chatting up a blonde cheerleader.

"Where are you staying?"

"I'm not sure yet," I shrugged, gesturing at Blondie for another drink. He scurried off obediently. "I was hoping to get the renovation work on the old family plot started, but until then...I'll find something. I saw a hotel a couple miles out of town,"

"Why don't you stay with us?"

"Really?"

"Yeah sure, I'm sure Uncle Zack won't object,"

"That would be beyond great," I smiled, "So Elena, sorry for that rather boring interlude. Tell me about yourself, you must be something special to have caught Fanny's eye,"

Damon practically choked when I used the mocking nickname we'd chosen for him all those years ago, Stefan smiled and flushed in embarrassment.

"Fanny?" Elena chuckled, "I am so using that in the future,"

"Oh, trust me, I have plenty of blackmail material on your boyfriend,"

"We're not...I mean..."

"Just- just friends...we're not..."

"Right...yeah,"

I raised an eyebrow. "Ok, well, I'll leave you too alone to finish your book report or whatever it is you highschoolers do these days," I grinned, ruffling Steffy's hair and turning back towards the bar. "Be safe, make good choices, always use protection," I called over my shoulder, enjoying the kid's embarrassed laughter.

"So I hear your crashing at my place," Damon said as soon as I reached him.

"You hear correctly. Thank god for Vampire hearing, or eavesdropping would be so much harder,"

"Will you be needing a guest room?" He asked, moving closer, "You see, we are in hard financial times, and the additional heating is an...unnecessary expense,"

"What do you suggest as an alternative?" I asked, toying with his daylight ring, now standing between his knees.

"At Chez Salvatore, we like to employ a 'buddy system'," He smirked, reaching up to brush my hair away from my forehead.

"Sounds only logical. Wanna be my buddy?" I asked, my eyes darkening, red veins growing faintly beneath my eyes.

"Nothing would please me more,"

My motorcycle was left behind in the flurry of Vampire speed and lust, as we chose to run to the boarding house. His bedroom door slammed against the wall and he kicked it shut, throwing me down on his bed.

I threw my head back, arching my back off of the bed, dark hair splayed over his downy white pillows, feeling his open mouth on my skin.

_Welcome home._


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was cold out, the ground hard and frosted beneath his boots. A pool of dark yellow light illuminated the dark panes of his angular, woolfish face as he stood below the street light, hands casually shoved into his Jean pockets.

"Rose, what a delightful surprise," He murmured, the thick accent looping through every languid word. "You have, perhaps, thirty seconds to explain your purpose here before I rip your heart out. I'm feeling generous,"

"Klaus," the petite brunette murmured cautiously, "I have some information you may be interested in,"

"I'm listening," he glanced down at his nails, "and my boredom grows with every moment,"

"It's about the Petrova Doppelganger," She whispered, looking down and away from those large, canine eyes. "I-I know where she is. I'll tell you, in exchange for mine and Trevor's freedom - I'll tell you everything..."

"You will?" He asked amusedly, "Still hanging about with Trevor? Old habits do die hard I see. You do realise that without that poor, deluded fool and his love," He scoffed, "For dear Katerina, you would not be in this mess?"

"He is my best friend, my family," Something dark twitched in the back of his eyes, and for a second he looked broken and vulnerable, and then his face became steely and blank with quiet rage once more.

"So, Rosalina, what is it you would tell me?" He asked, mockingly, "That her name is Elena Gilbert, that she lives in Mystic Falls, that she has a younger brother named Jeremy, and a witch best friend named Bonnie Bennet. Do not presume to know more than me, Rose, because you will always walk away disappointed. That is," He growled dangerously, reaching out to touch the smooth, white column of her throat, "if you walk away at all,"

"What about..." She choked as his grip tightened, her feet lifting away from the asphalt, trembling fingers clawing at his hand. "What about Faye...?"

That vulnerable look passed his face again, his breath hitching in a short darkened gasp, his grasp on her throat growing slack.

"She's dead," He growled, as if tearing the words through broken glass in his throat, "She's been dead for years. Why would you say her name?" He growled, his grasp tightening, "Why would you say her name!?"

"She's alive!" Rose gasped, a hoarse whisper through clenched teeth.

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"You can't catch me!" She laughed, sprinting through the woods, holding her dark green skirts above her knees. The tall, lean boy was close on her heels, his dark blonde hair curled at his jaw, his deep, gravelly laugh echoing in the emptiness.

"Faye!" he called, reaching out the grasp her arm, his hand closing around thin air as she twisted away, her long, dark curls flying in the wind.

"you'll never catch me, Nik!"

He was on the brink of manhood, about 17, tall and lupine and muscular. She was nearly 16. Even as he chased her, he could not help but notice how much she had grown up since they had first met, that summer day so many years ago. God help him, he couldn't help but notice how womanly she'd become, how her body curved. And he knew the other village boys were beginning to notice, even his own brothers. He growled softly under his breath.

Distracted, he stumbled over a tree root and fell forward, knocking into Faye. They both ended up on the ground, tangled up in eachother.

"Niklaus!" She laughed, rolling over. He was half on top of her, groaning at the aches all over his body that would soon evolve into dark bruises.

"Are you alright?" He asked, reaching up to tenderly brush aside a stray lock of hair across her forehead.

"I am disgusted that you, the honourable warrior Niklaus Mikealson, would stoop to such levels simply to win a race," she teased, reaching up and placing her hand against his jaw, he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, a smile curving at the corners of his lips.

"I am beyond nothing, Faye, if it means I get to catch you," He laughed, threading his fingers through her dark curls, below the flowers Rebekah had braided in earlier, white and glowing in the brunette locks. She flushed, the thin, dark emerald material of her embroidered dress twisting up around her knees.

"You are so beautiful," He whispered, looming over her, his dirty blonde curls touching her porcelain skin, she moved her hand from his jaw and slid it into his hair.

"Niklaus..."

"I'm...I mean...God," He stuttered, moving abruptly away and into sitting position, holding his arms out for her. She sat up, pushing down her dress and smoothing her hair, before climbing into his lap, burying her face into his neck. His arms folded around her, lingering against her waist and the sides of her ribs, fighting to keep his hold friendly and platonic. Why is this so difficult?

"Faye...I...I have to tell you something," she looped her thumb inside his collar, grazing the back of his neck. He shivered. "I have to tell you...that...that I'm in...love with you," his voice was thick, his eyes downcast, memorizing how the curves of her body fit into his in the certainty that he would never feel them there again.

"You're mocking me, Niklaus?" She asked, awestruck, leaning forward to look directly at him.

"Why would you say that, Faye? Of course I'm not mocking you," He tightened his hold on her, "I've been in love with you for years, my Angel. Ever since I saw you, ten years ago, sitting beneath the white oak with my irritating little sister. And every year you grew more and more beautiful, and I fell further and further for you. Ask Elijah, one of the Wellis boys made a comment about you and I nearly broke his arm. I'm utterly lost,"

There was a silence, and he closed his eyes, waiting for her to tear herself away, to destroy the tiny grain of hope and love within him, the glimmer she'd managed to coax from the charred remains his father's abuse had left in his wake.

And then her mouth was on his, hot and sweet and soft, and he groaned, pulling her tighter against him. Her hands buried themselves in his hair, and his arms knotted around her, roaming cautiously into those hesitant places he'd barely grazed before. God, he must be dreaming. She wasn't gasping and whimpering softly into his mouth, sucking on his tongue as he moaned and crushed her to his chest.

"I love you too, Niklaus," She breathed, between kisses, ducking her head to nip at his chin and jaw and neck as he groaned, completely at her mercy. "I love you so much,"

He breathed her in, a soft, heady perfume, kissing her hard, as if he'd never get the chance again. He bent and left a trail of open mouthed kisses against her neck. His teeth grazed her throat and she gasped, barely noticing the thin trickle of blood that curved down her the creamy skin.

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Faye woke early, naked beneath expensive, black silk sheets, Damon's warm arm thrown carelessly over her waist. Slowly sliding out from beneath the muscled weight, pulling on her jeans and t-shirt and tying her hair into a messy bun at the base of her skull. She gave her scruffy reflection a brief middle finger salute before ducking out of the door and sliding down the banister into the boarding house entryway.

"Having fun?" Stefan asked, taking a long sip of his coffee as she skidded across the varnished floorboards in her socks, patterned with bright yellow ducks.

"Yep," She grinned, vampire speeding it on to his back and ruffling his already unruly hair, before hopping back down and digging out a handful of dry cheerios from the box on the counter. "You have a good night with _Elena?"_

He nearly choked on his coffee, and if vampires could blush, he would have been bright red. He shoved her with his shoulder, snatching away the box of cheerios. She hopped up on to the counter, reaching up to try and grab it back as they both laughed.

"Well isn't this terribly domestic,"

The cheerios box fell to the floor, little wheat O's skittering over the floorboards.

Stefan's voice caught in his throat, "Katherine?"

**Hi guys :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please drop me a review and let me know what you think xxx**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone! Thanks for reviewing, it means the world to me. I couldn't keep this chapter in, so I hope you like it. This story has a slightly non-linear format, so we'll jump back and forth in Klaus and Faye's relationship as it demands, but don't worry, I'll always let you know where we are. Here's a bit more human Klaus and Faye goodness. See you on the other side guys :D xxx**

"I know you're in love with my brother," Bekah said accusingly, crossing her arms over her chest. Now almost 14, she was blossoming, her long white-blonde hair falling past her waist in plaits and braided with dark purple flowers.

"I thought you were going to wear vervain, to go with your white dress?" Faye asked, looking away. Rebekah touched the inside of her wrist absently.

"I picked some, but I think I might be developing an allergy...hey!" She growled, grabbing her friend's arm, "Do not change the subject! You had better be thankful that I was the one that dropped my knife at dinner, and not father. God knows he would have beat Nik for the way he was touching you,"

Faye blushed, "He just had his hand on my leg, perhaps he slipped?"

"We both know that Niklaus did not slip, Faye," Rebekah was looking at her friend with undisguised amusement as she tried to cool her suddenly very hot face with a handful of water from the earthenware jug on the table.

"Bekah, hush," Faye groaned, "Yes, I am in love with him, how can I not be?" She buried her face in her hands, "Is it really that obvious?"

"Only to me, and perhaps Elijah. We know you two the best, everyone else is oblivious. I think you may have broken poor Eli's heart," Rebekah pouted teasingly, pushing her friend into a chair and beginning her braids.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Faye asked, puzzled, thinking about quiet, studious Elijah, who told her stories and never once treated her differently because she was a girl. They were friends. They always had been.

"Oh, Faye, you are so utterly clueless sometimes," Rebekah sighed, gathering her dark curls from the sides of her face. "So, back to you and Niklaus...what do you plan to do?"

"Do? I don't know, Bekah," Faye chewed her lip, "I mean, I'm in love with him, he says he loves me. We have...kissed, several times," She turned crimson again, her eyes glittering darkly with memories of just how good Niklaus's mouth had felt on hers. "I know that we are not planning to tell Micheal for now, because Nik is convinced that he will find a way to take away this happiness. And, though I love Micheal and mother Esther so, I do not doubt that he is right,"

"Well, do not be surprised if my brother proposes the moment he sees you tonight, dearest," Bekah laughed, helping her adoptive sister ease her arms into the dark blue dress, embroidered with silver thread by Ayana's skilled hands. She slid the buttons through the loops, resituating the dark curls until she was satisfied. "You look ravishing,"

"Thank you, Bekah," She turned and embraced her, careful not to crumple the delicate dress Esther had made for her, white and as light as mist. "You look like an angel," She murmured, honestly, "Your brothers will murder every boy that looks at you tonight,"

Rebekah giggled, touching a drop of lilac essence against her throat.

"Oh, my girls," Esther's voice came from the doorway, she stood, resplendent and willowy in green. "How soon you are made women, and beautiful women at that," She held her arms open to them, and they embraced her, laughing easily as her motherly affection soothed them.

Faye thought with a twinge of her real mother, a nearly forgotten memory from ten years before, singing her lullabies until her voice was weak and raspy. Dead before her time. She thought of her father, swallowed hole by grief, swinging in slow circles from the tree in their garden, his neck bent at an odd angle. She remembered Niklaus's arms around her as she wept, Esther's sweet perfume. Elijah's gentle nature. Kol's unfailing ability to make her laugh, Rebekah's sweet friendship. The marker Finn hand crafted from white oak for their joint grave. Henri's innocent smile, asking why she was so sad. Micheal's protection, even if it did frighten her. She was one of them now, and had been since her eleventh birthday.

"Thank you, mother Esther," She whispered against her shoulder.

"Come now, girls, the harvest dance is not to be missed," She pulled away, wiping errant tears from her face.

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"Good god, Niklaus is smiling, ladies and gentlemen we have a miracle on our hands!" Kol crowed, elbowing his older brother in the ribs.

"Shut up, pipsqueak," Klaus growled in annoyance, still unable to wipe the stupid grin off of his face. "You would not even be here if Eli and I had offered to keep an eye on you,"

"Honestly, Niklaus, you look demented," Finn barely suppressed his laugh, "Are your cheeks not hurting?"

"Finn, perhaps we should have this conversation again when Miss Sage arrives?" Elijah raised an eyebrow, swiftly silencing the dark haired mikealson.

"Indeed!" Kol laughed, his dark jade eyes glittering with amusement, "Speak of demented, he looks like a raving lunatic around her. Oh, yes miss Sage, I quite agree. Oh, miss Sage...you do...do look...quite b-b-b-beautiful,"

"Shut up, Kol," Finn groused, shoving his younger brother backwards off of the chair. "I do not stutter,"

"Oh, but you do," Niklaus laughed

"What about you?" Finn retorted, "I love Faye, but what if she doesn't love me? Meh meh mehmeh meh, weep, weep, cry, cry,"

"Very mature,"

"Why don't you go and f-"

"The ladies are arriving," Devlin Wellis, one of the wolf boys, cried excitedly. Greyson Lockwood elbowed his brothers, growling excitedly. For many of the young people in the village this was one of the only opportunities to interact, officially. Of course, as young people did and would continue to do for centuries, rules were broken, other opportunities were made, but this was their night.

They were in a clearing, lit by torches and magical lights in the trees that Ayana and Esther had spent the morning illuminating. Several of the older villagers were playing hand made flutes and skin drums, and some primitive string instruments that the wealthier families had brought from Europe.

"I think Finn is dead," Kol smirked, watching his brother watch the striking redhead wander into the space, her auburn locks braided around her head in intricate coils and a heavy emerald dress swinging about her ankles.

"Dear God," Klaus heard his brother's strangled whisper, watching him walk forward to capture her hand and begin conversation.

Some of the village girls arrived next, all dressed in varying levels of splendour and beauty. In the glow of the moonlight, even the plainest girl seemed iridescent, so very alive and young.

Tatia arrived, arm in arm with a village girl, with dark curls twisting about her angular chin. She smiled prettily at Elijah, her huge, dark eyes glinting. Her dress was the colour of blood.

He wasn't as obvious as Finn, nor was he as deeply infatuated - it just wasn't in his nature - but Elijah stood up straighter at the sight of her. bowing his head slightly in her direction.

Then, all the air seemed to disappear from the room. Klaus struggled for breath, his mouth hanging open. All the young men of a certain age had similar dumbstruck expressions on their faces. Kol wolf whistled, earning a slap upside the head from Finn.

Rebekah and Faye were standing in a pool of moonlight at the edge of the clearing. Rebekah's white blond hair was on fire, glowing like a silver halo around her head, dotted with dark violets. Her dress pooled around her like the fabric was woven from starlight.

But it was Faye, his Faye, that stole the breath from his lungs. Her hair had been artfully crafted, large curls over her shoulders and a number of intricate plaits pulling the tendrils from her face, woven with silver ribbon and indigo flowers, a circlet crown made of forged silver around her forehead. Her dress flowed over her beautiful curves like water, tumbling in oceans of blue and green, the sleeves had slits up the sides, bound by silver band at each elbow. She was magnificent. He suddenly felt very human, in the presence of a Goddess. He remembered stories from the villagers who had travelled from far distant lands, like his family. Tales of humans who gave their lives to their Gods, devoting every moment to their care and service, and he'd always thought them foolish. But now...now he could understand.

Had he turned at that moment, he would have seen the look in Elijah's eye, the same one that had been in Finn's eyes the moment Sage stepped into the room. That burning passion, that for Finn was screaming and all consuming, but for Elijah was a slow burning smoulder, a quiet way to die.

Had Niklaus not been so in love with her himself, had he not seen that his younger brother had not yet fulfilled his dark habit of destroying everything that had the potential to heal him, had he not seen the way her breathing caught and accelerated when he saw him...maybe then he would have done something. She deserves better, he thought bitterly, but I am not better.

And with a mouthful of bitter alcohol, he sought out Tatia for a dance.

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"May I have this dance, my lady?" He asked, bowing to his goddess as she laughed at him.

"You may," She replied, holding out a hand to him. He took it and kissed it, enjoying her little gasp at the contact.

"I would like to say something," He murmured as the dance began, a slow pairs dance that allowed only the barest touches. _The art_, Esther had said when teaching them, _is in the absence of touch. In the longing, in the spaces between you._

God how he longed. How he longed to worship at her alter, to remove the finery in her hair and on her body, to make her his. He was conscious of every stare that she received from every man in the room, and he was aware of the burning rage that this inspired. But that rage combined with something that was also burning, a fierce desire, a passion. He loved every word that came out of her mouth, the way she saw the world, the way she laughed, the way that a single look seemed to absolve him of everything. _  
_

"Then say it, sir," She smiled, eyes shyly downcast, colour flooding her cheeks. He inhaled deeply, she smelled of vanilla and something else.

"But I fear it may be too bold,"

"Niklaus, if there is anything in your vocabulary similar to 'too bold' I will be shocked to my very soul," She replied, sliding her hand subtly inside his jacket, "And as for fear...besides, I am not a delicate flower that needs to be protected, you know that as well as I do. Tell me," She was touching him, caressing his back slowly with deliberate fingers. He fought back a groan. This is what you do to me.

"Fine, my love," He growled, as her hand slid lower, tracing the outline of the hem of his pants. He shivered, "I wanted to tell you that I have been longing to kiss you again since the other day in the woods, and it is killing me right now that I cannot hold you as I wish. I want to taste you again, feel you against me. Does that satisfy you?"

She was trembling, her hands had stilled on his belt, her big doe-eyes dark with desire. "No, it does not satisfy me," She groaned softly, "I think I need some fresh air,"

No-one noticed them slip away, and no-one heard their fevered moans over the music, and no-one heard Niklaus growl "I love you," and "You're mine," into the darkness, except her.

Lying in the cave together, safe in the knowledge that none of their family would return for hours, Niklaus stripped away her finery and made his Goddess mortal. Naked and flushed beneath him, she whispered his name and her love in his ear until her whispers became cries and he collapsed against her, guilty and whole. She threaded her fingers into his hair and pulled his forehead down to hers.

"I wanted you as much as you wanted me, Niklaus," She kissed him, soft and sweet, a pretty smile set in her glowing face, "No guilt, no regret. I love you,"

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"What are you doing here, Katherine?" Stefan demanded, his voice shaking slightly, bone deep shock in his tone. This wasn't Elena, he knew it, just by the way she spoke, even though the alternative was impossible. She'd burned, in Fell's Church, with all of the others.

"I know. I'm alive. It's incredible, right?" She checked her nails in the overhead light, "You can touch me all you like later, make sure I'm real and all that jazz," She winked at him, "But for now, I have news. Big news. On the Originals, namely Klaus,"

"Katerina, Niklaus is dead," Faye choked, "He's been dead for hundreds of years. What are you talking about?" She clutched her stomach, as if she was about to throw up, wincing. Niklaus.

"We're all dead, really, aren't we?" Katherine smirked. "I see that I should probably let this one play out for itself, it's so much more fun that way. Ciao, Stefan, tell Damon I said hi," She blew him a kiss and left, laughing.

"He's dead," Faye slid down on to the floorboards, burying her face in her hands. "He's dead and she's taunting me,"

"Faye," Stefan said cautiously, kneeling beside her and gathering her to his chest as she wept, "Who is Klaus?"

**REVIEW! Please let me know what you think of this chapter, there's plenty more to come, if you guys want it? 3 xxx**


	6. Chapter 5

She stood before him, a small, shy smile on her face, dark hair loose and curled about her face. This was the first time he had seen it down, not tied in braids or pulled away from her face, but long and natural and soft against her creamy skin. Her dress was plain and white, smooth linen embroidered with pale gold thread at her waist. Rebekah had woven wildflowers into a crown, circling her brow. She looked like a faerie, beautiful, delicate creatures of folklore that guarded over nature and took delight in tricking foolish humans. She was barefoot, as was he, standing beneath the white oak as the villagers stood in a circle around them.

Elijah stood at his side, Finn, Kol and Micheal standing a small distance back, Faye had Rebekah and Tatia and her friends from the village, pretty girls in violet all looking on with a mixture of happiness and envy. Henri stood beside his adoptive sister, a sober, serious look on his face, holding her hand tightly in his. They'd all expected her to ask Micheal, or Finn, but she had asked Henri to give her away, breaking custom entirely.

"_Takin tulle allem, sister_?" He asked softly in his little voice, _Do you wish it, sister? _in an ancient language that none really remembered. One of the first ever spoken, or so it was said. She looked at Niklaus, her love for him burning her alive in the best way.

_"Ja tulle allem," I wish it,_ she whispered, bending to kiss his cheek. He placed her hand in Klaus's, covering them both with his small ones.

"Thank you, Henri," Esther whispered, smiling fondly at her youngest son. He took his hands away, bowed and went to stand beside Elijah, a relieved, proud smile on his face.

Esther took their joined hands apart, placing them palm up against her forearm. She took a blade from Ayanah, who looked on worriedly from behind her, mumbling something in latin under her breath, and sliced the plump flesh of their hands, along the line that soothsayers would long call the love line. Blood trickled down her forearm, and she smiled, barely noticing the pain. But Niklaus...his stomach had gone hollow, his mouth aching in a foreign way. He couldn't stop staring at the pool of crimson gathering in the centre of her palm.

Oblivious, Esther continued the ceremony, placing their bleeding hands together. Her pulse was beating slowly against his, and he groaned softly, a drop of scarlet falling to the grass beneath them. Esther then laid the first of the ribbons over their joined hands. Pale blue, for the ocean. The second, green for the earth. The third, red for fire. Purple for the spirits of the lost. Yellow for the sun, white for the moon. A dull, rough piece of brown string for modesty. And one he did not recognise, a black ribbon.

"Soaked in vervain oil," Esther said softly, "For protection," her eyes flashed strangely, holding the ribbon in one hand and a metal cup in the other.

Faye drank from the cup, wincing at the taste of the bitter, metallic wine, before handing it to him. The taste was unlike anything he'd ever tasted, sweet and inviting and addictive, like a drug. It electrified him, blazing through him like a forest fire. His eyes prickled and his mouth ached. He drained the glass.

"Niklaus..." Faye was staring at him in horror, the red, viscous wine trickling down his chin, staining that beautiful sandy hair she loved.

"It is done," Esther cried, wrapping the long black ribbon from her elbow to his in wide spaced coils. He screamed, the fabric burning his flesh like hot wax. The world went black.

He awoke, lying in a patch of parched meadow grass that had, seemingly moments before, been emerald and furiously alive.

He scrambled to his feet blearily, trying to piece it together. His fine wedding clothes were torn and stained with blood, there was acrid black smoke in the air and the sound of someone sobbing in the distance.

The white oak had burned to the ground, scorching the grass, destroying nearby thatched huts. It lay, once a mighty symbol of nature, now a pile of soot and smouldering ashes at his feet. The smoke surrounded him like a fog, loose flakes of soot peppering his hair like tarnished snowflakes.

"Faye?" He called out, the crying only grew louder. He stumbled off in it's direction.

Rebekah was kneeling on the ground, weeping over several dark shapes. Her own fair hair covered in ash, fluttering on her eyelashes.

"Bekah? Bekah, what happened here?" He asked desperately, shuffling towards her. She shrank away from him.

"You, Klaus," she cried, hot tears slicing through the filth on her cheeks. "What have you done?"

He realised what the shapes were. Bodies, in the smoke. Henri lay with his head in Rebekah's lap, eyes gazing unseeingly at the bleak sky, his stomach and chest torn. To one side lay Finn and Kol, shrivelled and grey, each with a dagger stuck deep between their ribs. On the other side lay their mother, her eyes turning cloudy, the ghost of a smile on her lips, her chest ripped open. Her heart lay beside another figure.

Klaus fell to his knees with a jarring thud. Faye lay there, as if she had simply fallen asleep, in all her wedding finery. She looked so innocent, white dress, arms outstretched, two large gouged puncture wounds in her neck. he touched his chin, it was slick with blood. Her blood. Her right arm twisted the wrong way as if wrenched from her body, the remnants of their wedding bonds wrapped around her broken wrist.

"what have I done?" He screamed, "what am I?"

The sobs that shook his frame were violent and raw, he clutched his love tightly to his chest, begging her to return with a hoarse voice.

"You are a monster, Niklaus," His father walked from the distant mist, untouched by the ashes. He ripped Faye from his arms. "You are not my son," he raised an object, rectangular and sharpened at one end. White oak, broken away from her parents' grave marker. He shoved it into his chest, a look of pure, burning hatred in his eyes.

Klaus awoke, panting, the bedsheets had twisted around his long, lean legs. The room was unfamiliar, but he could hear the freeway and he knew he wasn't far. Far from home, far from her. _she's alive._

He wanted to run to her, everything be damned, and kiss her breathless, until all of the pain and suffering he'd endured, all the false motivations and schemes, would melt away.

But he knew that time changed things. Time and actions. After what he'd done to her...what Esther had done...

the dream wasn't real, but reality wasn't too far away. He'd always pictured them like that though, married at the edge of the forest where they had shared their first kiss.

Had she known? Had she known that he was alive and aching for her, and had she purposefully avoided him? Did she love another?

He threw the cheap motel lamp against the wall.

I am what he said I am. A monster. How could she ever love me?

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"Stefan, did you skip your pills this morning?" Damon asked, now wearing low slung jeans and a look of false bravado, "Katherine is dead, she died in Fell's church,"

"we thought she did, Damon," Stefan responded, the reason and practised calm in his voice shaking, "We never saw it, remember? We were too busy being shot at!"

"Youre being ridiculous, brother," Damon growled, frightened to hope. "How do you know it wasn't your little creepy clone girlfriend?"

"it was Katerina," Faye murmured, "I would know her anywhere. Besides, she knows who Klaus i- was,"

"care to enlighten me?" Damon asked, smirking impatiently.

"one of the original vampires, over a thousand years old, extremely powerful," Stefan stated matter-of-factly, repeating the key points of what she'd told him earlier.

"And how, pray tell, does dear miss Faye know about these originals?"

"My blood completed their transition," she replied, her hands shaking around her coffee cup. "And Niklaus turned me into a vampire,"

**hope you liked it! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, keep them coming :) I love to know what you guys think!**


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